A recent report by Jefferies analysts has revealed that Huawei has dethroned Apple’s iPhone from its position as the smartphone market share leader in China.
According to the analysts, it reports that smartphone sales in China have shown positive growth year-over-year driven by high double-digit growth in Android sales led by Huawei, but Apple’s iPhone has seen a significant double-digit decline.
The analysts wrote,
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“We believe weak demand in China would eventually lead to lower than expected global shipments of iPhone 15 in 2023”, adding that the trend suggests the iPhone will lose to Huawei next year.
The Jefferies analysts wrote that Android’s volume growth can’t be chalked up to discounts and that discounts on iPhones, excluding the iPhone 15 models, have been stable, while the average discount for Android is not high.
It further noted that resale of iPhone 15 devices are all trading at discounts to official selling prices, which also reflects the weak demand in China.
After Apple released the latest model of its iPhone 15 last month September, the Cupertino giant expected the device to be a top seller, unfortunately, it recorded a massive decline in sales.
Market tracker counterpoint Research estimates a 4.5% decline in iPhone 15 sales compared to the iPhone 14 during the first 17 days after release. Apple stock fell 1.2% on the news.
Recall that Huawei also launched its latest mobile device Mate 60 Pro in the same month of September, while the 7-nanometer processor is not as advanced as Apple’s 3-nanometer, Huawei’s technological development however represents a significant advancement in the US-China chip war.
This highlights the challenges Apple is encountering in China, where economic struggles and competition from companies like Huawei are impacting iPhone sales.
Analysts predict that Huawei could sell 5 to 6 million units of the Mate 50 pro alone this year, and the numbers could hit double digits in 2024.
Reports reveal that analysts are concerned about Apple’s longer-term impact in China, the world’s largest smartphone arena. Many analysts argue that Huawei’s rising prominence could erode Apple’s dominance of the higher end of the market.
Counterpoint blamed the iPhone’s slump in China mainly on an economy struggling to rebound from its Covid trough. It stressed that in the US, the iPhone 15 likely posted a double-digit rise over 2022 in the first nine days of sales.
Also, the US and China relations are said to have impacted the smartphone war. Recall that last month, Chinese officials banned government employees from using iPhones at work, one week before Apple unveiled the iPhone 15.
While Huawei, which is seen as a national champion has enjoyed strong support from the Chinese government which includes favorable regulatory treatment, and partnerships with local carriers, all of which have contributed to Huawei’s success in the Chinese market, impacting the sales of iPhone.
It is also worth noting that China has vowed to cut reliance on foreign technologies, and doing so could hurt Apple’s market capitalization in the country, one of its biggest markets.
The ban on iPhones in China, reflects similar United States policies, such as the Federal Communications Commission designating Huawei a national security risk.